‘OK, I havenoidea what the hell that means.’ Then Ward’s expression transitioned from playful to genuine concern and his green eyes searched her face as if looking for clues as to what was throwing her off. ‘Hey,’ he said softly, touching her elbow gently, ‘I’m sorry. If you need to talk …’
He was staring at her with an intensity that made her stomach do flip-flops. Hannah didn’t know if it was because of her current confusion about Rob or if it was just because the more time shespent with Ward, the more drawn to him she seemed to become. Which was doubly dangerous.
‘It’s fine, honestly. For the record, I actually did try to give you a heads-up about the piece yesterday, but couldn’t reach you. In any case, Ward, I can’t run every single element of the strategy by you, or I’d never get anything done. You need to trust me too. I already said I wouldn’t pursue anything you weren’t comfortable with. And I honestly didn’t think you’d lose it over a bunch of helpless kittens.’
‘Like I said, I’m sorry. But speaking of running things by … did you see that I posted something online – a video?’ He looked so hesitant and unsure of himself now that she softened afresh.
‘Yes. An inspired idea and something we can really build on too. I already have a few ideas and—’
‘I deleted it.’
She stared at him. ‘What? Why? Your first post, proper post, I mean, and it went viral too! People are going crazy over it, Ward, why would you—’
‘It was cheesy and dumb and it wasn’t even my idea. Shelley my … friend, figured it was a good move at the time but I changed my mind. That’s not how I want to be seen.’ He looked away briefly and Hannah knew there was more he wasn’t saying. And she couldn’t help but wonder again about this ‘friend’.
My personal life is off-limits.
Regardless, if Ward truly didn’t want to go down the fitness video route, for whatever reason, then there was nothing she could do to persuade him.
He looked back at her again. ‘Anyway, I’m sorry for being a dick just now. Guess I sometimes forget I’m not the only asshat clientyou’ve got to deal with. Are you sure you’re OK though? Anything I can help with?’
Hannah shook her head. The last thing she needed to do was talk about her private life, or previous relationship mistakes, with him.Herpersonal life was off-limits too. Especially to this particular client.
‘It’s grand,’ she insisted, trying to sound offhand. ‘Nothing that a better night’s sleep won’t fix.’
Ward nodded reluctantly and then his lips twisted up in a half-smile. ‘So that whole loser speech … did you just blurt that out off the top of your head or were you rehearsing it because deep down you knew I’d chew you out for releasing that picture?’
‘A little bit of both,’ she admitted with a grin. ‘I’ll be honest – I had an inkling you might not be fully on board since you’re such a tough guy and all.’ She met his gaze briefly and was relieved to see that he wasn’t quite as annoyed as he pretended to be. ‘But I was curious to see how the online reaction panned out. Based on the response so far, I’m starting to think that, thanks to us both, we’re finally making progress and are a lot further along the road to having that image of yours reformed, no?’
He snorted, shaking his head. ‘At what cost, though? Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate everything you’re doing, truly I do. Guess I just still need some persuading that the image we’re trying to project is real.’
Hannah frowned and she spoke gently, addressing him seriously this time. ‘Ward, I suspect somewhere along the line somebody convinced you that you’re less than, for whatever reason. They’re wrong. The fact is – that guy in that picture, that one split second at the shelter when you dropped the macho mask – is exactly who you are. Yes, you’re a pro athlete and you’re tough and you’re strong,and all the rest of it. No one is denying that. At the same time, there’s a tender more vulnerable side to you, too. One that you were kind enough to reveal to me on occasion. But you need to lower the deflector shield,’ she said gently, deliberately using aStar Trekreference to help hammer the message home. ‘People respond better to the real you.’
Ward stared directly at her then and after a beat, asked, ‘Doyou?’
The huskiness in his voice sent sparks shooting through her and she looked away, no longer able to withstand those penetrating eyes. She laughed nervously, well and truly discombobulated now.
‘Who wouldn’t?’ Then tucking the phone back into her pocket, Hannah swallowed hard and pasted on a bright smile. ‘Now, come on, let’s get in there and keep up the good work.’
Chapter 35
‘Block him,’ Zoe commanded sternly.
That afternoon, Hannah managed to bring her friend up to speed about her ex’s messages.
You were always my lucky charm, after all
Because she’d accessed the last one covertly on her laptop, as far as Rob was concerned she wouldn’t have seen it ’til this morning, rather than spending half the night awake and ruminating over every word.
A million alternate responses still jostled around her brain, all conflicting, but as much as she wanted to be honest in her response, deep down Hannah knew the easy-breezy ‘gimme a call when you get here’ reply was the safest choice. And after that, come what may.
‘Did you hear what I said?’ demanded Zoe, who had a scary knack for reading Hannah’s mind. ‘Don’t even reply.Blockhim. That’s the only option. He’s trying to get under your skin again. Remember what happened last time. You haven’t forgotten, have you?’
‘Of course not. It’s just … ’ She bit her lip.
‘No. No “it’s just” … Aw, please tell me that you haven’t responded.’
Hannah cringed afresh at the wine-infused essay-lengthconfessional still sitting in iMessage. ‘I haven’t responded,’ she admitted truthfully.
